Friday, April 30, 2010

I have been working with some ideas for card sets this week. I like the freshness of this one, it was done with "Swiss Dots" and "thanks" embossing folders. The heart and side embellishments were done with Cuttlebug photo corner - negative pieces and a hand punch heart. Color by Copic Airbrush System. Overall size is 4 1/4" X 5 1/2". Have a great weekend and Happy Friday, Hugs

Thanks to everyone who visited my blog this week and commented on my mini album. Random.org chose #48 and that would beLeah from Leah's Card Design. Congrat's Leah and please get your address to me so I can mail this out to you. Have a safe and happy weekend everyone. Hugs

Monday, April 26, 2010

Welcome to our BBTB2-Challenge, Hosted this week by Donna Mundinger-"The Magnificent", her choice is the bee from the Cricut Cartridge "Sentimentals". Please visit all our designers this week for not only great projects but fun fun Blog Candy.I truly am having a hard time believing I have not posted in a week, oh my goodness. It has been very busy in this little piece of real estate over the last month. I have completed over 275 bookmarks. When I do a large project (in this case a couple of large projects) of one particular item, I try to do a project totally different just to keep the energy and ideas flowing. I decided that our blog hop would be a great chance to switch gears and grab out some of my other tools. This is a 4" X 6" mini album. The covers are acrylic, sprayed with Copic Markers and the Copic Airbrush System. I cut the bee hive from "Sentimentals" but used the negative, this was adhered to the first page of the album not the cover. I then used the blackout for the bees cutting them in 2 sizes (a little smaller for the wings, which were cut from polka dots). I added metal corners, bound it with the Bind It All system and added misc. ribbon.I sprayed the edges of the journal pages (which are index cards) again with the airbrush.

the photo on the right shows the album laying flat.

For my blog candy I am offering this album, a fun place to keep notes, addresses, etc. All you have to do is sign up as a follower and leave a comment to this post. I will choose a winner using Random.org, April 30th at 6AM. Now please hop over to see the very very talented Marina Vasquez. Happy Monday, Hugs

Monday, April 19, 2010

Happy Monday Morning, as the rain begins to lessen and the temps begin to warm up, I keep re-affirming my commitment to begin my morning walks.This is one of my "Take Notes" bookmarks, the legs are from a "Spellbinder's" die and the tennies are from Cricut Cartridge "Paisley". Have a great week. Hugs

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Here is a bit of a variation on my bookmark design, I added 2"X2" post-it-notes. There are some books I take a lot of notes from and this is perfect, they are right there. I cut the slot with a corner slot punch by "Family Treasures" then braced it. I suggest you use no more than 12 sheets and be sure to place the sticky on the left side (vertical). Then you write your thoughts, lift on the right upper corner and peel down to remove. The chili pepper was cut from "Mickey and Friends" it is the Donald's hat, I know I have seen a chili pepper but as my week goes, I could not find it. Then added two different hearts. "Hot Stuff" was computer generated. Happy Sunday, Hugs

Saturday, April 17, 2010

It is a beautiful Saturday morning here, hope yours is equally beautiful.This bookmark was punched on the bottom with a Martha Stewart punch. I used a stamped image from "Stamps Happen". Remember when using your stamps you don't always have to use the entire image. All coloring was done with Copic markers and the Copic Airbrush System. Just a tiny touch of glitter to her wings. Have a great day, Hugs

Friday, April 16, 2010

Good Morning, this week has just flown by! It has been almost a year since I started with the Copic Markers and then in July or August I got the airbrush system. I feel like I am just now making some progress and what an adventure into color. The bookmarks have helped me tremendously to stabilize my background colors, that is one of the hardest techniques to get down as they tend to be blotchy until you get a rhythm going, it is also important to keep in mind that the colors fade slightly as they dry, so sweeping the entire area from right to left or left to right, top to bottom, then let dry and re-apply if necessary, I usually end up with at least two coats for my backgrounds. I think it is also important to make sure your marker is fully loaded before doing a background. If you have used a traditional airbrush it will take some time to adjust to the Copic because you do not have a continuous flow.This bookmark was done with the Ginkgo from Cricut cartridge "Wild Card", thanks to those of you who helped me remember which cartridge, I hit a senior moment yesterday and could not find this cut for the life of me. The daisy is cut from "Walk in my Garden" and the butterfly is from "Tinkerbell and Friends". The swirl corner is from a stencil (un-identified) and I also cut a stencil for embossing the Ginkgo. Happy Friday, Hugs

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

This is another faux leather bookmark, this time using the black faux leather paper. I cut the silhouette from the Cricut cartridge "Heritage", then made the icon smaller and created an embossing folder and embossed the larger cut image, creating a cameo appearance. The photo corner is Sizzix and again I used the positive and negative, the heart is then embossed with the qk embossing folder. The camera did not pick it up - there is a very subtle color difference, on the inside silhouette I sprayed it with my copic marker R0000 - Beryl Pink to enhance the cameo effect. Happy Wednesday. Hugs

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

This is one of my list makers done withthe faux leather. I love how it takes the Copic Airbrush. I first sprayed in the stencil "trees" and then did my overall base coat, on the right inside you can see I stitched the ribbon holder in, which gives a different appearance also. The red block is heavily embossed with the swirl cuttlebug folder, this also takes a great emboss. Added metal photo corners.A bit of fun news, my bookmarks, cards and list makers are now available locally at "Once Upon A Shelf" in Sacramento at the corner of Antelope and Roseville Road. If you are in the area stop in and say hi to Traci and roam around her great store. Then hop over two doors down and have a fabulous pizza "the BEST" at a "Taste of Tuscany", my new favorite pizza and Italian Bistro. Happy Tuesday. Hugs

Monday, April 12, 2010

Our BBTB2 Challenge this week is to use the "RicRac" from Cricut cartridge "Plantin Schoolbook" and it is hosted by Carole Beath. Carole has this thing for frogs, so I could not resist.

Okay, you have all seen it, the princess sitting on her bed reading a book, then you hear a ribbbit, then another and another, the princess then explains it was only a one time thing. It would be my favorite commercial if it weren't for the Parrot and "here kitty". I so admire the brilliance it takes to tell a story like that in seconds.

The overall size for this card is 5 1/2" X 5". I first designed the card with the ric rac boarder using Design Studio, George and Plantin Schoolbook. Then used "My Mind's Eye" double sided patterned paper over the blank. The "Princess Ava" stamped image is by "Greeting Farm" and the scalloped oval is from a Nesties. Frogs are from a QK die and were then embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. All coloring was done with Copic markers and the Copic Airbrush System. Please check out the wonderful other designs by my fantastically talented design team sisters. Happy Monday, Hugs

Sunday, April 11, 2010

I tend to forget how wonderful this faux leather paper is for "male" items. Unfortunately it does not photograph that well, no matter what I did I got some glare and the texture isn't that distinctive in photo but here it is anyway. The font for "DAD" is upper case "Spellbinder's" and sits upon a "Nesties" oval. The boots are from QK. All colors were done with Copic markers and Copic Airbrush. Happy Sunday, Hugs

Saturday, April 10, 2010

This bookmark was done with the cat image from "Paisley" and I got this cartridge primarily for this cut, although there are some other great things on this cartridge. I used both the negative and positive from the Cuttlebug photo corner on this. All color was done with the Copic markers and Airbrush System. I cannot remember from what cartridge the crown is, sorry. Misc. crystals. Happy Saturday, Hugs

Friday, April 9, 2010

I found an old gardening book and thought it would be cute to incorporate one of the pages into a bookmark. I used one of my line drawings and Martha Stewart tiny butterflies, the corners are from QK. All coloring was done with Copic markers and Copic Airbrush System. Happy Friday, Hugs

Thursday, April 8, 2010

This is a butterfly book mark, yah know, Martha Stewart should get an award for this butterfly it is just so usable, it is the perfect size and the shape is soooo elegant. I combined it with the Cuttlebug branch embossing folder and the Tim Holtz branch stamp. All colors are done with the Copic markers and Copic Airbrush System. Happy Thursday, Hugs

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

I used to day dream about living in a light house, they are magnificent structures. The overall measurement on this is 2 1/2" X 5 3/4". The light house is from Cricut cartridge "Life's a Beach". All coloring was done with Copic markers and the Copic Airbrush System. Happy Wednesday. Hugs

Monday, April 5, 2010

It is Monday and our BBTB2 Challenge was to use the sweet baby in a sling from New Arrival. I am still playing with the treat box on the Cricut Cartridge "Sweet Treats", it just comes together so easily.

The box was airbrushed with the Copic Airbrush and markers, the flower was put together with a bunch of petals I have and secured with a square brad. The font for "Sweet Baby Girl" is a Spellbinders font. Wide wired ribbon created the handle. Overall size is 6"X4 1/2" X 3 1/2".Please stop and take a look at the other wonderful designers for this challenge. Happy Monday, Hugs

Sunday, April 4, 2010

I am loaning out my book "The School of Essential Ingredients". I always include a bookmark and the reader loves the cover of the book, so I took my inspiration from that. It is a wonderful read. I used the Cricut Cartridge "Sentimentals" for the bench just pulled it out a bit and then punched the back with a Martha Stewart punch. The overall size is 3 1/2" X 6". All colors are the Copic markers and Copic Airbrush. The stamped image (the ivy) is by "Mostly Animals".

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Well I think I am back. I think my mojo got tossed in my re-org, there were no images, no ideas, wow, scary. But I woke up yesterday and this was floating around in my head and I went with it.The background paper is from my scraps and I have no idea who did this one. I did a multiple bow with a charm, the charm was computer generated. The pocket was done with design studio and cannot remember the cartridge for the embellishment it was also in my scraps. The stitching was done with a 3ply thread that I have had for ages but could not find a sewing machine needle that it would fit through, finally found one at Wal-Mart. The stamped image is from All Night Media by Mary Engelbrett. I did a fun technique with the stamp, you stamp the image with a light gray or beige ink, then with a thin black permanent ink pen draw around the image then color in with Copic inks. Photo corners on this are QK and metal. I love the tea bag from "Stash" it is Mango-Coconut and thought it perfect for this card pocket.Inside it says, "It is not just tea but the ritual, the chime of the microwave that deems the ritual begin. The dunking of the tea bag and then walking away as it steeps. For a true ritual there must be a china tea cup so that your mouth feels the warmth gently before you experience the earthy fragrance entwined with coconut and mango. It is the first sip that rewards you with pictures of Monet women in floppy hats and swirling dresses, the gentle waves lapping at the shore of a tropical island. It is the ritual." Happy Saturday, Hugs

The best of reads I have had in several years, masterful plot and execution of characters, you will feel part of Vatican City and all of its history, wow, 10 years to write, most truly one of those read over again books. So much fodder for thought.